


Gold vs. Silver

by RavensRedShadow



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 10:53:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11401041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavensRedShadow/pseuds/RavensRedShadow
Summary: Daryl and Rick are enjoying their new relationship in the relative peace of the prison following the fall of Woodbury. But Daryl can't help but wish Rick would stop wearing his old wedding band.So he decides to do something about it.





	Gold vs. Silver

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I haven't posted anything in a while so I wanted to put up this little drabble I wrote a while ago. Just something light and fluffy. Hope you enjoy and as always I am the only proofreading so if there are any errors please let me know. I greatly appreciate it!

After another long but uneventful day, they had settled into bed for the night. Daryl lay awake tracing the veins and scars on Rick’s hands. His wedding ring looked a little loose now and Daryl fiddled with it, twirling it around.

Daryl couldn't help but stare at the gold band on Rick’s finger. It was tarnished now and worn but it still seemed to gleam under Daryl’s gaze. Rick didn’t even seem to notice it but sometimes it seemed to be all Daryl could see.

"I can take it off if you want," Rick murmured into his hair, “know it reminds you of her.”

“Ya don’t have to,” Daryl shrugged, not surprised at Rick’s ability to know exactly what he was thinking, “she was a part of ya. Can’t change that. Don’t wanna change that.”

"Lori and I were over long before I even got shot. We’d even talked about getting a divorce but we decided that it wouldn’t be fair to Carl. Guess it just felt like the right thing to do. Stay together, try to work things out. And I loved her, she’s the mother of my child, but I think I fell out of love with her a long time ago. Things just happened and I never had a chance to question it.” Daryl hummed into his chest still fiddling with the ring.

“It’s just habit you know - wearing it.” Rick continued, “Haven’t taken it off since Lori and I got married. It makes me feel like at least something’s the same.”

“’s fine Rick,” Daryl kissed him, “ya don’t have ta explain yerself ta me.”

“But I want you to understand. It’s not that I’m holding on to her. I think it’s just I’m holding onto the idea that something as simple as a wedding band could still mean something in this world. I want you to know that I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I need you to know that.”

“I do,” and as Daryl pressed Rick into the mattress, his eyes fixed on the ring, he knew what he had to do.

-

The next day he went in search of Maggie, the idea burning in his mind making him feel determined but nervous with the prospect of it.

"Mags, got a sec’” he waved her down as she traded places with Carol on watch.

“Yeah what’s up?” she squinted at him, her hand up trying to block the sun.

“Need your help with somethin’," Daryl bit his lip suddenly feeling stupid.

What was he thinking? This was a ridiculous idea.

But Maggie was looking at him curiously and he didn’t have a lie ready so he blurted his plan out.

“Oh my god,” she cried.

“Shhh,” he hushed her looking up the ladder to be sure Carol hadn’t heard.

“Sorry,” she said covering her mouth, “it’s just so perfect!”

“Will you help me or not?”

“Of course,” she exclaimed grabbing his arm, “and I know just what to do.”

-

“You sure about this?”

“Yeah,” he had to be.

Daryl covered her as she shot a couple of the closer walkers quickly before pulling her knife out of her sheath to dispatch the rest.

Once they’d taken them all out they started searching the bodies.

“Found one,” Maggie called, bending over the crumpled walker, “what do you think.”

She held the ring up and it needed to be cleaned it but it would work. “It’s perfect,” Daryl rolled the ring around in his palm. It looked like a good size.

“That was easy. Guess it’s not as hard ta find a ring for a guy,” she smiled, nudging him with her shoulder, “don’t have to even worry about a diamond or anything.”

Daryl chuckled at the image or Rick with a diamond ring on his finger. “Might get in the way a his gardenin’ or somethin’.”

They made their way back towards the gates of the prison, the ring clutched tightly in his fist.

"Not that I don't want to help but why me?"

"Figured you'd understand.” Daryl shrugged.

"Yeah," Maggie smiled, "I get it. Think it’s real sweet actually. He’ll love it. I know I did when Glenn proposed to me.”

“Just never thought any a that shit was important before. ‘til him.” They made it inside the gates pulling them closed and waving off Carol’s confused looks from the watch tower.

“Love changes things. But for the better.” She hugged him close.

-

Daryl felt like he was going to throw up for the rest of the day he was so nervous. He’d scrubbed the ring until it looked as close to new as it was going to get but then he had nothing left to do. He paced the cell block, and then he went outside and paced in front of the fences. He smoked his last cigarette too quickly and then felt jittery for the rest of the day wishing he’d saved it instead.

Maybe it was too soon. They’d only been together for a couple months and it hadn’t even been that long since Lori had died. Maybe Rick wasn’t ready to move on. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way.

But Daryl knew that even though things had calmed down for the moment, at any second the shit could hit the fan. Even if Rick didn’t feel the same he needed him to know how he felt. He wanted Rick to know that things like wedding rings did still matter. At least to Daryl.

Finally after dinner, once everyone was getting ready to settle into bed, with Glenn on watch, and Judith asleep with Beth, Daryl knew it was time.

Maggie gave him a thumbs up from across the cell block as he went into Rick’s cell and he knew there was no way he could get away with not doing this tonight. Otherwise, Maggie may just strangle him in his sleep. Or tell Glenn about it. He wasn’t quite sure which one was worse.

“Hey,” Rick smiled from his seat on the bed where he sat toeing off his boots.

“Ya know I love ya right,” Daryl blurted out.

“Of course,” Rick looked up surprised, “of course I know that. Just like I hope you know that I love you too.”

“Yeah, course.” Daryl fingered the ring in his pocket suddenly feeling very faint. At that moment, Daryl realized he really should have planned something to say. All those movies where the guy proposes he has some great speech but it’s too late now.

“What’s wrong Daryl?” Rick stood up reaching out for him, “you don’t look so good.”

“I – just – I need you to know that – that I love ya. I don’t say it near enough because I’ve never been much good with this type of thing. Never thought I’d find someone ya know. Didn’t really matter to me but now I – “Daryl tripped over his words feeling his throat close up. Before he could chicken out he thrust out the ring to Rick, ducking his head to hide behind the fringe of his hair, not sure he wanted to see Rick’s reaction.

“What –?” Rick started to ask but trailed off as he realized what Daryl was holding. He silently took the band from Daryl’s palm, his own ring glinting in the low light of the cell.

Suddenly Daryl felt really stupid. What if Rick didn’t want to take off Lori’s wedding band, he couldn’t really wear two now, could he?

“You got this? For me?”

“Nothin’ has ta change.” Daryl said hurriedly, “Don’t want a fake ceremony or nothin’. You don’t even have ta wear it. It’s just – my way ‘a sayin’ this is it fer me. Yer it.”

Rick stared at Daryl for a moment before slowly deliberately taking his gold band off – and replacing it with silver.

“Everything’s changed,” Rick said cupping Daryl’s face in his hands, “my whole world has changed. Because of you. You’re it for me too Daryl Dixon.”

For one horrifying second, Daryl thought he might cry. But that was stupid, the ring wasn’t even all that different from the one Rick had before. You couldn’t just look at it and tell. None of the others would probably even notice. But Daryl knew it was different. He knew Rick had chosen him.

And that gold ring would haunt him no longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Please comment and let me know if you'd like more parts to be posted of this story. Was thinking of adding more if people are interested.
> 
> Thanks!


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